


prithee

by huni



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Falling In Love, Forbidden Love, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Prince Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Prince Mark Lee (NCT), Royalty, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:36:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28800690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huni/pseuds/huni
Summary: It’s a hot night in the middle of summer, the only living soul to be on the streets is the messenger. He runs the faster he can, holding tight his hat and all the papers on his arms. He had only one message to deliver, but it’s the most important one. “The prince is born, healthy and strong.” Those seven simple words meant everything for a country.It could stop a war.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan & Mark Lee, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Kudos: 24





	prithee

> _"Always remember what I say. Every time you’re outside the castle, you’re nothing but a pawn, a little manipulated and vulnerable piece of a bigger problem. This is much greater than your power of will, of what you want to seek in life. It’s the future of an entire nation in your tiny hands. You’re no savior, far from it, but you can’t let this drain through your hands like water, Donghyuck.”_

* * *

It’s pouring outside the carriage, like it has been in the last few days. Donghyuck can see a few thunders breaking the sky, lightning everything around for some seconds and then all he can see is the faint light that comes from the moon above him.

Donghyuck feels his feet damp, his boots covered in mud and grass. He should’ve been used to this already, but he isn’t. He hates the mud and the water that falls from the sky. Donghyuck is a summer child, who doesn’t know how to live during winter or autumn. The Sun always greets him with happiness, kissing his lean body, and warms his skin.

During summer he can swim, drink cold wine and beer, and stay outside the castle until some hours after dusking. He can enjoy the little it’s given to him. But with the rain and cold, it’s all a waste of time. Donghyuck gets stuck inside the castle, with useless classes about things he already knows: the history of Qaskaria and Jasmeynia and whatever comes from it.

All ends in war, death and Donghyuck hates to remember his fate.

_“You’re our last hope.”_

He can hear it clearly, the hundred, thousand, or maybe million times someone said it to him. He hates to be the last hope, to be what can save his whole country. It’s a weight upon his shoulder he will probably not handle, but pretends he will because he has no other option.

Sometimes Donghyuck lays on his bed, after a day full of useless things he had to do to become a perfect human being, and thinks about what his life is really about. He wishes things were different, that maybe - just maybe -, he could be someone else and fulfill his wish to be free.

When freedom is not even an option in your life, you want it more than anything else in the world.

Once he told his servant this, about all the forbidden feelings he had deep inside. That he wanted to have another life, where he could do whatever he wanted to do. To live like he’s supposed to live. The servant laughed slightly, if he wasn’t so close to Donghyuck, it would’ve been considered a crime to laugh at a prince’s face. But Donghyuck didn’t care, he liked Johnny’s smile.

“You don’t know what you say, Your Highness.” Johnny says, choosing a floral oil to put on Donghyuck’s hair “You say you want another life, but you have a place to sleep with an enormous bed, silky sheets and cloudy pillows. You have something to eat, a whole banquet just for you every meal. Not to talk about the pleasures of royalty - which are countless. Your Highness doesn’t know how it is to live outside the castle’s bubble.”

Donghyuck blinks a couple of times, trying to imagine his life without the things he mentioned. Was everything so bad outside the castle? “Well, then tell me how it is to live outside the castle, Johnny.”

Johnny is silent for a moment; Donghyuck can see him gulping before putting a smile on his face. He starts to brush Donghyuck’s black hair, taking the strands on his long fingers and massaging them slowly. Without noticing, Donghyuck is always admiring his beauty, his eyes and cute lips, but he looks extremely sad for his beauty to shine out.

“It’s too hot during summer and too cold during winter. It’s eating just once a day and working at least ten hours in a farm for misery. It’s losing the people you love because they are sick. It’s having no voice and being invisible everywhere you go, because no one cares about you or your well-being or your feelings.”

Donghyuck pouts and murmurs “I wish I was invisible,” even if he didn’t want all of what Johnny just mentioned, all the suffering he must’ve been through “You could take me to the festival then.”

Again, Johnny smiles, this time a full and big smile. It almost blinds Donghyuck, he’s sure of it. Just one smile feels like the whole Sun is in Donghyuck’s room. Johnny keeps on gently brushing his hair, pulling it back and Donghyuck frowns because he doesn’t like to show his forehead that much.

“Maybe the Prince of Jasmeynia could take you to a festival when you visit him next year.” And suddenly the smile looks sad again.

Well, with this weather, not even the mighty Prince of Jasmeynia could make a festival happen. Donghyuck doesn’t care about it at all. For the first time in his life, he actually thanks the rain for the heavy drops, flooding the lands in the perfect timing. He didn’t want to go to a festival in a time like this.

_Prince of Jasmeynia_. Donghyuck doesn’t even remember his face, only the one he sees on paintings and books, but in all of them he looks too odd to be true. Big ears, a flat nose and too plump lips, as if bees stung the flesh around his mouth. Donghyuck is pretty sure, even if he doesn’t remember well, that the prince’s younger self didn’t look this bad.

Donghyuck only met the other prince when they were about seven years old, Donghyuck has a scar on his knee to remind him of the friendly meeting.

Lee Mark was a restless kid, not really caring if he was allowed to climb the threes or not, he just did. Donghyuck remembers being jealous of him, of his wildness and freedom. The first time Donghyuck saw Mark he was getting back from fishing, his clothes and hair soaking wet as he smiled to his servant, showing the two big fishes on his hand. The servant greeted Mark with a towel, drying the little prince’s body.

Mark told them about climbing rocks and swimming on the river next to the village. Everything sounding like a fairytale on Donghyuck’s ear, he could count on one hand how many times he went outside of the castle his entire life. He never imagined himself going to a river, or having fun under the Sun until a year ago. Mark enjoyed life in one day more than Donghyuck did in all of his years.

It was upsetting, but also thrilling at the same time. Donghyuck wanted to do the same as Mark, to explore the world like him and maybe be as happy as Mark looked, so he took the chance and approached the prince.

They were both strangers and didn’t know shit about each other, not even why they had to meet, but Mark was nice and lively. In no time they were already running around the yards, yelling at nothing and laughing loudly. Donghyuck liked the sensation of the wind against his skin, the breathless chuckles and the grass on his hair.

That was one of the few days Donghyuck really enjoyed everything at its full, something he never thought he was able to do before. They went up a hill and chased the goats and chickens in the farms next to the castle.

Trying to reach a mango’s three - to grab some fruits for them -, Mark jumped a fence and Donghyuck did the same as him. He never did something like that in his life, but if Mark was doing it, so was he. Of course he fell, badly, on a rock. Donghyuck never saw so much blood in front of his eyes, it was overflowing from his knee, so he started crying.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Mark said, patting Donghyuck’s head “It’s just a scratch.”

Donghyuck was surprised when Mark tried to pick him up, but he was smaller than Donghyuck and couldn’t carry him around. In the end, he just helped Donghyuck to walk back to the castle.

He wished they never went back, ever. Donghyuck’s mother had a breakdown as she saw the cut on Donghyuck’s knee and his messed hair. Donghyuck never saw the Queen so mad before, she screamed with him for an hour and explained everything that Donghyuck already knew.

_You can’t do this because blahblahblah, if you die our country etc etc and I’ll never forgive myself..._ Donghyuck was tired and ignored everything she said that night. For a whole year Donghyuck regretted coming back from his adventures with Mark that evening. Especially because when he was back, Mark was his fiancé.

  
  
  


“You remember what you have to do?” His assistant asks Donghyuck, breaking the dead silence in the carriage “With the Prince.”

“Seduce him and marry him. If possible, love him.” Donghyuck’s voice is just a monotone, not showing a single hint of excitement to marry the most powerful prince on earth.

“And look happy.”

Donghyuck gives a too fake smile at his assistant, making the latter roll his eyes at his actions. It’s not that he doesn’t like Jaemin, he doesn’t like the situation they are heading to. Jaemin is nice.

“Would you be happy, Jaemin? To marry Prince Mark?” Donghyuck sometimes thinks he’s too close to the people that work for the crown, like Jaemin and… Johnny, because they’re always friendly with him “Am I being a stubborn and spoiled prince for not wanting this and acting like a brat?”

“Oh, you’ve always been a stubborn and spoiled prince, Your Highness.” Jaemin mocks. He’s a highborn, from one of the richest families in their country, so sometimes he doesn’t care about what he says to the prince. After all, the country is still working and didn’t break because of the highborn families like Jaemin’s “But yes, you’re being the most brat you’ve ever been right now. You could be marrying an old, disgusting man. Prince Mark isn’t that bad.”

“Next time we are home, remember me to ask for your head.” Donghyuck mumbles. 

Jaemin nods with a playful smile around his lips. “Anyways, answering your other question. Yes, I would be happy to marry Prince Mark. All the power you’ll have just after saying a single ‘ _yes_ ’, it’s not something to make you sad about.”

Donghyuck knows he’s right and tries to brush off every ‘ _I don’t care about power or peace_ ’ thought he’s having and reminds himself he needs to do it for his country. Qaskaria and all its people depend on him.

-

It’s a party when they arrive, the Queen and King are so excited to see Donghyuck in flesh in front of them, like it’s really becoming true now that he arrived in Jasmeynia. Donghyuck tries to show the same excitement as them, but he’s tired from all the days travelling and sleeping anywhere.

Before dinner, servants help Donghyuck with his bath and clothing, choosing the most mesmerizing costumes for Donghyuck. It’s everything this rich red color and gold, making patterns around the cloth. They pull his hair up and put a pair of black shoes on him.

Donghyuck smells incredible, looks stunning and is covered in gold and jewels. He actually likes all the pampering he’s receiving from the new country and royal family. The servants announce it’s almost dinner time, so they will lead Donghyuck to the banquet hall, where they’re throwing his welcoming party.

Everything is decorated in yellow, red and white, the walls painted with small symbols and drawings that Donghyuck doesn’t recognize. The royals’ table is in the end of the hall, almost too small for all the food they put on it. Donghyuck is hungry and thirsty, so he takes a glass of wine and heads to the table immediately.

The people dancing in the hall bow to him, seeming genuinely happy to see the Prince of Qaskaria, who will marry their prince in less than three months. The musicians play a funny song and the mood is nice. For a moment Donghyuck forgets he was so against coming here. He’s enjoying everything so far.

The food is delicious, reaching Donghyuck’s expectations. He eats the lamb, a whole pie and shares two chickens with Jaemin. Donghyuck drinks the wine first, but their beer seems more appealing, he enjoys it way too much, even if it’s a peasant drink.

After he feels full and a little dizzy from the wine and beer, Donghyuck notices he hasn’t seen the prince anywhere. The Queen and King didn’t even mention Mark all night, as if he was a projection only inside Donghyuck’s mind because everyone forgot about him.

Donghyuck didn’t see someone as monstrous as what Mark looked like on his portraits around the royals’ table or anywhere in the banquet hall. So the Prince is really absent, an intrigued sting hitting Donghyuck on the back of his head. He came all the way from his country to meet the so loved Prince and he’s not even in his welcoming party.

A servant passes through Donghyuck and he grabs her by her wrist, stopping her. She smiles sweetly at him, bowing her head “Where’s Prince Mark?” he asks and her smile gets smaller, as she thinks about what she should answer.

“He’s getting ready, Your Highness.” Donghyuck sighs, because she’s obviously lying. Have the royal family instructed everyone to lie about Mark to him? Maybe he died? Or ran away to marry a peasant? Donghyuck thinks about every possible scenario, and it only gets better inside his head.

Maybe he’s so ugly he doesn’t show up with so many people around?

That would be a little bad, actually, because Donghyuck still has to marry him. Maybe he has a good heart, so his looks won’t be an issue. _Oh, keep fooling yourself_ , Donghyuck thinks to himself, letting a small wheeze escape from his nose.

Jaemin elbows him on his ribs, waking him up from his thoughts. He bored-whispers a ‘ _what_ ’ to Jaemin and the latter points to the doors of the hall. It’s a ruckus and Donghyuck almost can’t see what’s happening there. The crowd opens up and two men come through it, Donghyuck even squints but he’s pretty sure of what his eyes sees.

_It’s him._

Drenched from head-to-toe, messy hair and dirt all over their clothes. Both are drunk and singing loudly with the music that the musicians are playing, each of them with a woman’s arm around their waists. Everyone bows to the heirs of Jasmaynia, Prince Mark and Prince Jeno.

  
  


“He isn’t as ugly as you thought.” Jaemin whispers in Donghyuck's ear.

Both princes are making a show in front of them, dancing and singing lively. It’s not like Donghyuck expected them to be as composed and behaved as him. Since they were kids, Mark was a free bird, flying everywhere without someone stopping him from doing whatever he wanted to do. But the royal family looks unpleased, to say the least. The Queen has this grimace on her face, very subtle, but enough for Donghyuck to notice it, and the King raises both his eyebrows to watch what is happening in the room.

Everyone around seems to be a little surprised, but enjoying the energetic princes. Jeno grabs four mugs of beer in his hands and shoves two of them to Mark, who smiles at his brother as thanks. They gulp down the booze in seconds and continue to dance around with the women and children.

Donghyuck is nervously laughing inside, not sure how he’s supposed to feel about the scene in front of him. On one hand, he’s glad Mark didn’t even care about him. Not even a single glance in his direction, as if Donghyuck wasn’t even there. But they were supposed to marry anyways, it’s the pact that saved Donghyuck’s country after all.

Maybe Donghyuck thought Mark would fall on his knees for him, court him since the second Donghyuck stepped in the castle and adore him the way he deserved. But if Mark refused to marry Donghyuck, he didn’t know what would happen. It’s not like he enjoys thinking about it, but seeing Mark not giving a single fuck about him, it scared him.

“Oh my god…” Jaemin gasps and Donghyuck follows his eyes.

Mark takes his loose shirt off, making the women around go crazy with his nice body. Donghyuck analyses his good proportions, broad shoulders, muscular but not so much, and beautiful thighs. Everyone seems to be as stunned as Donghyuck, not even daring to blink and watch the prince move around shirtless.

When Prince Jeno is about to go shirtless too, a voice as deep as a thunder speaks, making the hall quiet in just seconds “Mark, Jeno… Come closer.” The King orders, getting up from his seat.

Everything seems like a walk of shame, all eyes on them, watching every movement they make. Jaemin is the only to laugh at them wobbling around because they’re too drunk. Except for him, everyone in the room is too afraid to even breathe, frozen like a statue.

Mark is the first to reach the royal’s table and for the first time in the night, he glances at Donghyuck’s direction. They watch each other for a while. Donghyuck looking like a true god, perfect skin and hair, with dazzling clothes. And Mark, with his hair still damp, dirt covering a good part of his face and half-naked body.

_Is this really my future husband?_ It’s all that crosses Donghyuck’s mind while he holds Mark’s stare. Maybe he’s going to marry a beast and doesn’t even know, maybe Mark will treat him badly because he wants to live his life at its fullest and Donghyuck is holding him down.

Before he can doubt everything again and start a crisis inside of his mind, Mark smirks and blinks at Donghyuck. Maybe if he wasn’t so drunk it would make Donghyuck’s heart race a little bit, but Mark just looked as if he was about to sneeze and that makes Donghyuck giggle.

Jeno is the one explaining why they were late for dinner. They went hunting that morning, because Mark wanted to do something he liked in his last day of freedom. When they realized, they were in a tavern, drinking and eating with the villagers.

The King doesn’t look satisfied with the princes’ actions, especially in Donghyuck’s welcoming party. Not that he cared much about it, Donghyuck would do the same if he had the opportunity to drink and eat with the villagers from his country. Actually, he wouldn’t… Because he’s too boring for something like that even if he was given the permission.

“You two can go clean yourselves and go directly to sleep.” The King says and both of them bow in a weird way, almost bumping into each other’s head “And no sneaking out.”

They both chuckle about nothing. Mark looks up with a grin around his lips “Shouldn’t I spend some time with my fiancé?”

Jeno laughs through his nose and Donghyuck notices the hint of mockery in Mark’s tone. They’re really laughing in his face and disrespecting him. Even in his circumstances, he’s the fucking Prince of Qaskaria, the heir to the throne and owner of all lands in the South of their continent. And they’re insulting him.

“It didn’t look like you considered spending time with me just minutes ago, Prince Mark.” Donghyuck gets up, he can feel Jaemin getting excited beside him, he always loves a good conflict “We have all the time possible to spend together, you shouldn’t worry about it.”

Jeno continues to laugh and holds Mark by his shoulder, almost patting it. Mark has a mixture of delight and annoyance in his expression. He bows to Donghyuck too, trying to reach for his hand, probably to kiss it, but Donghyuck stays still.

He’s not angry or mad, but he needs to put up for himself. He’s in a different country, with only a few people he knows and can rely on. If he’s going to marry the heir of Jasmaynia, he needs to get at least some respect from the foreign people.

Donghyuck can tell all the eyes are on him, he’s used with attention so he doesn’t care, but he still can feel his cheeks get warmer and his face probably looks redder. He could blame everything on the drinks he had or the bad lighting, but for some reason he feels like Mark notices it. The prince doesn’t look as drunk and clumsy with his actions as he did a while ago and he pierces Donghyuck with his stare, trying to see through Donghyuck.

“If my company is not wanted, I shall go back to my room as my father suggested.” He grabs Jeno by his arm and leaves the hall mumbling something with his brother.

The air is stiff, too much tension around. Donghyuck should’ve kept quiet and ignored them. He needs Mark to somewhat like him and not get annoyed with him. The Queen looks ashamed of what just happened. The combination of her sons making a mess on an important dinner and Donghyuck showing he was displeased with their actions made everything worse for her. She shares a smile with Donghyuck, almost as a complicit, and Donghyuck answers her the same way because he’s too polite not to.

If he’s not wrong, and he’s pretty sure he’s not, the Queen was a foreigner too. So maybe, just maybe, she kind of understands what Donghyuck is going through.

-

When Donghyuck goes to his chambers, there’s a servant waiting for him. She looks shy and young, too young to be a personal servant in Donghyuck’s opinion, but he doesn’t complain. He wishes he could bring his servants with him, but that would include Johnny and Donghyuck knew no one would agree with that. Johnny was better left alone thousands of miles away and Donghyuck knew that.

Johnny would be a distraction and Donghyuck couldn’t even think of failing his future marriage.

When he’s laying on his new bed, almost sleeping, his mind starts to wander through what happened on that day. Everything was so confusing in his eyes, as if it was all an act and he didn’t know. First, the princes could do whatever they wanted. They embarrassed all the royal family in just a few minutes, they were wild and didn’t care about what others would think. The Queen and King did nothing and that was the oddest thing in Donghyuck’s eyes.

If Donghyuck did the same as Mark and Jeno, well, he didn’t know what would happen to him, probably some days locked inside his room to think about his actions and be sorry about it. But it didn’t look like it, the princes were at liberty even after the dinner. Donghyuck sighs in frustration because Mark will be his problem to take care off in some months. Maybe that’s why they arranged the marriage, to be free from Mark’s restless and uncontrollable self.

_Oh, that’s frustrating._

He thinks about Johnny again, about how easy it would be to marry him. They would live peacefully in a small house around the village. Johnny could work in the farms and even during winter they would be warm together. It’s self-sabotage to think about things that will never happen, not even in dreams. So Donghyuck brushes off any trace of that kind of thought and tries to sleep.

-

The next morning Jaemin keeps on laughing the whole breakfast. He remembers Donghyuck’s serious face, the surprised look in the King’s face and Mark’s fake disappointment. It’s all fun for Jaemin and it’s only their first day in Jasmaynia.

While it’s vacation for Jaemin, it’s literally life or death for Donghyuck.

He woke up feeling extremely nervous and anxious, his body all sore from a bad night of sleep. He had nightmares all night, about Mark kicking him off his country and burning his whole country down. All the beautiful forests and lakes from Qaskaria burned to ashes.

It’s messed up, he didn’t do anything bad, he just responded to the prince he’s supposed to marry and turned him down. All of this in a span of time of ten minutes. But he keeps telling himself everything’s fine, so the first thing he does that morning is invite the princes to have a lovely breakfast with him and Jaemin. That should solve everything.

“They won’t come, you know it. They’re probably too hungover to even remember who you are.” For the nth time that morning, Donghyuck asks himself why his father sent Jaemin with him. Of all people. “But I hope they come, it’ll be fun.”

“I hope they kick your ass from here, because only royalty is allowed.” Jaemin grimaces, eating a piece of fruit from his plate “Please, Jaemin, don’t make everything much more difficult than they already are.”

The servant pours orange juice in Donghyuck’s glass and announces the princes are in their way. That makes him almost choke on his own saliva, but he dealt with worse, he could handle a lovely meal with two beasts ready to attack him.

Time stops when Mark appears, with the biggest smile on his face and Jeno right behind him. They both look healthy, no dark circles or puffiness around their eyes. Tidy clothes with perfect hair. They look nothing like the mess they did last night, Jaemin even blinks twice to make sure his eyes aren’t fooling him.

Mark comes directly at Donghyuck’s direction. Donghyuck is almost sure he’ll punch him right in the face, or maybe spill orange juice on Donghyuck, just because he’s using a white shirt that morning.

But he does the unpredictable and places a sweet peck on Donghyuck’s left cheek. He mumbles a soothing ‘ _morning_ ’ with his husky voice. Donghyuck can eye-corner watch everyone’s shook, especially Jaemin who didn’t expect that at all. The only one that doesn’t seem too surprised is Jeno, and Donghyuck imagines that Mark planned that in advance, probably with his brother’s help.

Just. To. Fucking. Mess. Around.

“Good morning.” Donghyuck says, a bitter taste on his tongue because he didn’t want to say it “Nice to see both of you are just in one piece and looking good.”

And Donghyuck fucks it up again. But he grins at the princes, drinking from his orange juice, sounding and looking the most composed person ever. Sometimes he thinks he overreacts everything too much, but every detail gets on him. He’s too precisian, especially with strangers.

“Looking good is our specialty, Donghyuck.” Jeno answers sitting on the other side of the table.

“Well, you didn’t show this specialty of yours yesterday.” He says, biting his tongue afterwards.

Donghyuck doesn’t know what is happening with him in that country, but he wishes to stop very soon. He doesn’t need to irritate his future husband or his family to save his life, the contrary actually.

Jaemin mouths something to Donghyuck, but he can’t understand what he said, probably something for Donghyuck to stop being salty so early in the morning. And to put it all in count, Donghyuck was lying. He really found the princes good-looking, especially Mark and his defined body, but that was something Donghyuck would never tell.

“You may pardon us Donghyuck, it wasn’t our intention.” Mark smiles, taking a seat next to Donghyuck with Jeno on his side.

The breakfast goes on smoothly, it’s not like the princes are beasts as Donghyuck thought. They’re pretty educated and composed, as expected of royalty. They spend the rest of the day together because they need to get to know each other. From that day on, Mark and Donghyuck will become a single person and soul, they need to have a good bond for a happy marriage.

Mark is a real gentleman and courts Donghyuck in the most subtle, but effective way. Donghyuck feels Mark’s hand running around his back, holding it gently. He can see Jaemin glancing at them and whispering something to Jeno, which just wheezes at whatever the other boy is saying.

“Don’t bother them,” Mark says, sounding as calm as ever “they aren’t the only ones staring anyways.”

And he’s right, it’s not like everyone that crosses their path won’t stop to stare at them. The Prince of Jasmaynia and the Prince of Qaskaria walking around together. It’s a show right in the light of the day.

They go riding, have lunch and then sunbath for almost the whole afternoon. It’s boring and the only ones talking are Jaemin and Jeno, who seem to have enjoyed each other’s company. Mark is calm, still, and says only two words every thirty minutes.

It’s bad and suffocating, Donghyuck wants to ask whe, if it happens, they are going swimming, or go hiking around the forest, or climb a valley, or chase goats and chickens around. The only part Donghyuck thought he would enjoy about being so far from home was that part of Mark, the thrilling feeling that surrounds his aura.

The little, but meaningful kind of freedom Donghyuck could have. But life is how it is, they aren’t kids anymore and even though Mark still goes wildly around, now Donghyuck is only the boring portion of his life.

“I need to write a letter to my family.” Donghyuck excuses himself and goes back inside the castle.

Well, at least he’s allowed to spend many hours outside the castle and do whatever he wanted in the land. Mark doesn’t even shrug or say anything, he drinks his tea and starts talking with Jaemin and Jeno, who are giggling about something again.

Through the whole path back to his room, Donghyuck thinks about how much of an annoyance he is to Mark, for the prince to not even talk to him or get to know him. Not that he tried too, but Mark seems to be a talkative, extrovert and the fact that he treats Donghyuck this way is frustrating.

Donghyuck writes a short letter, with just a few words guaranteeing he’s well, the palace is as nice as he remembers and that he’s still alive. He writes nothing about Mark or their marriage, he has nothing to say anyways. Nothing good, at least.

Dinner time comes and Donghyuck is called again. He sits next to Mark, just like he did in breakfast and everything repeats. Mark speaks with people around him and sometimes looks at Donghyuck and says something, about the food or whatever. It’s not like Donghyuck is really caring to bother, he knows nothing important will come from it.

After dinner, Mark takes Donghyuck to his room as expected. The flames of the torches mold Mark’s silhouette and broad shoulders under its light. Donghyuck walks a step behind, watching every detail of the other prince in front of him. He’s still a complete mystery to Donghyuck, everything he does is so unpredictable and Donghyuck can’t imagine what comes next. With Mark his mind becomes foggy, he can’t imagine what Mark will do next and that makes him uneasy.

When Donghyuck notices, Mark stops on his tracks and stares at Donghyuck, with narrow eyes and a frown on his forehead “There’s something really bothering me the whole day so I need to ask,” he starts “why are you so against it?”

He says it with his normal soothing voice, but a little shaky at the end of the sentence. Donghyuck blinks twice and tries to think about what Mark means. They were silent just some seconds ago.

“Against what?” Donghyuck questions, almost whispering it.

“Our marriage.” Both of them gasp at the words ‘ _marriage_ ’, now being too real. Donghyuck hooks his gaze, the silence consuming them.

“Who said I’m against it—”

“It’s not necessary for anyone to tell me, I can see it in your face. You almost despise me, always retorting everything I say and avoid all the effort I put to make this work. It’s not like I’m a bad person or our marriage is not good for you, we’re protecting you and accepting you in our family and country. But it’s like you prefer to be everywhere else, but with me. You know, I’m really trying because I don’t want our marriage to be a shallow thing, without feelings.”

If you ask Donghyuck, Mark is a nice person, with a cute grin and beautiful hair. If circumstances were different, Donghyuck would be happy to marry him, just as any other person would. But seeing Mark reminds him of every political thing that is happening between their countries, all the despair and hope his people put in Donghyuck.

Donghyuck grew up without knowing what living really is and deep down every time he sees Mark he remembers the entire struggle he went through all those years.

He can’t say it to Mark. It sounds like Donghyuck is blaming him for his life being awful since day one, Mark would never forget it and take responsibility for it. And it’s not his fault and never will be.

Mark waits for an answer, his frown growing on his forehead, but Donghyuck doesn’t know what to answer him without making him feel bad about it. The feeling bubbles inside Donghyuck’s chest, anxiety taking his tongue and mind. So Donghyuck says the first thing that pops inside his mind, not caring about the weight that it would have on his relationship with Mark.

“I’m in love with another person.” Donghyuck spills.

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!!  
> hope it was a good reading for now heh sorry for any mistakes and feedbacks are always welcome!  
> thanks for reading and see you next time <3
> 
> you can find me on twt [here](https://twitter.com/chsoobi) :)


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